New study confirms dangers of bumper pads to babies

One of the most successful safety campaigns in recent history has been the Back to Sleep program, designed to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The campaign--as its name indicates--advises parents to place healthy babies on their backs to sleep because research has shown that babies who sleep on their stomachs are much more likely to die of SIDS. As the percentage of infants placed on their backs to sleep increased dramatically since the early 1990s,  the rate of SIDS has declined by more than 50 percent.

But a new study just published in the Journal of Pediatrics suggests there’s even more parents can do to reduce the risk of crib death. And that is to stop using bumper pads in cribs and bassinets. Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, has long discouraged the use of all soft bedding including bumper pads.

According to the study done by Washington University's Department of Pediatrics, “crib  and bassinet bumpers are dangerous.” The study makes that case by reviewing the Consumer Product Safety Commission database of crib-deaths from 1985 to 2005. The study found 27 cases of infant death involving bumper pads or similarly padded bassinets. The most deaths, 13, occurred when the infant became wedged between the bumper and another object; 11 deaths occurred when the infant’s face was against the bumper and 3 deaths were the result of the bumper tie around the infant’s neck. In theory, bumpers are designed to prevent a baby’s head from hitting crib bars or to keep extremities from projecting through the bars. But the study says that these benefits are outweighed by the risks of death.

The report "raises serious concerns about the safety of bumper pads and highlights the dangers of all soft bedding in cribs," said Nancy Cowles, Executive Director of Kids in Danger. Jack Walsh, executive director of Keeping Babies Safe  added:  "It’s appalling that the fatalities associated with bumper pads have gone unreported for so long. In light of this report, we need to consider whether the sale of bumper pads should be banned.”

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents the leading makers of infant bedding and cribs, had a different reaction to the study. The group said that the CPSC has not shown any direct causal connection between infant fatalities and properly made traditional crib bumpers. CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said the 27 fatalities cited in the Journal of Pediatrics study is not an official agency number. He said there may have been other factors involved, including crib-integrity issues such as the width of the slats, that have been addressed by newer safety standards.

Our advice: Remember, bare is best.  Don't buy puffy or padded bumper guards,  sleep positioners, pillows, quilts, duvets or stuffed animals for your baby's crib. Experts have long recognized the suffocation risk inherent in such soft crib bedding.